Court Ruling Doesn`t Excuse Dcfs

March 29, 1992

Kids had a bad day in court last week.

The U.S. Supreme Court, in a 7-2 decision, ruled that abused and neglected children cannot use the federal courts to force states to abide by a federal statute designed to improve their care. The case, which came out of Cook County, overturned lower court rulings that had directed the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services to assign a caseworker more quickly after a child is taken into state custody.

The court ruled that private individuals cannot use the courts to force states to comply with the 1980 Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act because Congress had not specifically granted such a right in the statute. As dissenting Justices Harry Blackmun and John Paul Stevens noted, the majority opinion seems in contrast to a ruling issued just two years ago that found existing civil-rights laws granted this right of redress through the courts.

This is a ruling that could be good for cash-strapped states and bad for the thousands of children who wind up in state care each year.

While Illinois and other states have made great strides in identifying the extent of child abuse, they have failed to protect child victims and provide the assistance needed to reunite distressed families so that children can return safely to their homes.

Often, the only successful way to prod states to action has been the work of attorneys who represent children, such as the Legal Assistance Foundation and the Cook County public guardian`s office.

It`s a safe bet that funds in the 1991-92 budget for DCFS reforms would have vanished in the state financial squeeze if Illinois hadn`t agreed to a federal consent decree spelling out necessary changes. Now, the legal avenues upon which the advocacy groups can rely have been limited by the high court.

Court-ordered remedies are a costly, confusing and time-consuming way of setting policy. Money that is spent by the state to defend itself could be better spent on children. Judges should not be the policymakers and administrators of state agencies. But, unfortunately, that oftentimes happens because elected lawmakers shirk their responsibility to set policy and oversee state government.

This court ruling shouldn`t be viewed as a reprieve for DCFS. It should wake up the Illinois General Assembly to the job it has avoided for years.

Gov. Jim Edgar deserves credit for expanding the DCFS budget last year and then protecting it when the budget picture tightened. The financial pressures are likely to be even greater this year. The Supreme Court has given the state some new armor to fend off the advocacy groups. The state should respond by owning up to its responsibilities.